I just skimmed your articles again and I can't thank you enough for the time, care, accuracy and effort you've put into them. Your passion and commitment shine through and each one is a trip down memory lane. Actually, I wanted to welcome you by lightheartedly quoting from your paragraph about living like a monk because I had so much fun with it. It reminded me of all the ways I dodged questions about that ten-year period of my life, especially on resumes!

I didn't find it, but instead this jumped out:

Beginning in the days when I soaked-up the forum archives like a dry sponge right up through the thread above started by Acquinas, "authenticity" might be the best word to describe the spirit of this forum and why I have so much respect for the posters here. Authenticity, silent alarms, disturbances in our psyche... many here refer to it as a properly functioning bullshit meter.

Meditation, however, has been a little bit of a touchy subject and rightly so. It ranges from people who were so burned by the cult that they understandably distanced themselves from everything associated with it, to others who rejected Prem but nevertheless retained what they felt was beneficial. Perhaps the touchy part is when it's associated wth undefinable things like god, mysticism, soul and whatnot. (Magical thinking ranks right up there with bullshit meter, and I might as well add "invisible friend" and "drips" (doubts) as useful reference points.)

When it comes to the desire to see Prem held accountable, however, except for whether or not it's even possible, there's never been a whisper of disagreement. That's one reason why I'm so thankful for all your efforts and why I look forward to everything you bring to the table.

Please accept this as my heartiest, warm and authentic welcome to the forum!

Bob Tooker